112 Gripes about the French was a 1945 handbook issued by the United States military authorities to enlisted personnel arriving in France after the Liberation. It was meant to defuse the growing tension between the American military and the locals.
The euphoria of victory over Germany was shortlived, and within months of Liberation, tensions began to rise between the French and the US military personnel stationed in the country, with the former seeing the latter as arrogant and wont to flaunt their apparent wealth, and the latter seeing the former as proud and resentful. Fights were breaking out ever more often, and fears were raised, even among high officials, that the situation might eventually lead to a breakdown of civil order.
Set out in a question-and-answer format, it posed a series of well-rehearsed complaints about the French and then to each provided a common-sense rejoinder — the aim of the authors being to bring the average American soldier to a rounder understanding of his hosts.
It has recently been republished in the United States (ISBN 1-4191-6512-7), and in France under the title "Nos amis les Français" ("Our friends the French"), ISBN 2-7491-0128-X.
See also
External links
- Full Text with original illustrations but a few typing errors
- BBC comments on the recent republishing of the handbook
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